Stormy Nights
by Hlbur14
Summary: Just a small one shot... Jess is frightened of storms, so the guys come to try and distract her. Slight Nick/Jess :


**Just a small one shot I came up with, thanks to the inspiration of a storm outside while writing it :') **

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Jessica Day was terrified. She was on the sofa, tightly holding a blanket around herself with her knees to her chest. She couldn't stop jumping and trembling, unable to see through the darkness for the building had suffered a power cut. Why was she so frightened, you ask? Because it was thundering and lightning outside.

Her roommates, Nick, Schmidt and Winston, had gone out to the bar. They had asked if she wanted to come, insisted on it even, but Jess wanted to have a night in. Schmidt and Winston had shrugged and filed out of the loft, but Nick had lingered, watching her as she sat on the sofa with a novel in her hands.

"Go." She said, smiling widely.

"Sure you'll be okay?" he asked, unsure.

"Believe it or not, I'm not the girl in the underwear in a horror movie." She said and the both smirked, thinking back to her roommate interview. So Nick had left, gently shutting the door behind him and leaving Jess alone in the living room with her book. Jess, no matter how much she loved the guys, was glad to get some alone time. She adored the three of them, really she did, but sometimes they just knew how to drive her insane. After all, they were guys! It was Schmidt's day to annoy her, and naturally the other two joined in.

So she was just glad to get a night in and alone.

Big mistake.

Not an hour into her well deserved evening, the world outside erupted into thunder and flashes of lightning. The lights went out in a blink, plunging Jess into darkness. Naturally, Jess had yelped and tried to dial Cece's number, only to discover that she had no signal. She tried the guys, but her phone just wasn't going to give her that kind of comfort. So all she could do was wrap the blanket tightly around her as a form of protection, tucking herself into a tight ball in the process.

She had always hated storms, ever since she was a child. Hell, she was still a child at heart, everyone knew that. She knew that it annoyed her roommates sometimes, but she also knew that they liked her unique behaviour just as much. She was a breath of fresh air, and she made their lives a somewhat adventure. There was no denying it.

She let out a squeak of fright and huddled into the corner of the sofa, the spot that Nick usually settled in. She buried her face in the leather cushions and pulled the blanket over her head, trembling as she did.

"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts..." she murmured repeatedly to herself, cringing at the roar of thunder that felt like it shook the apartment.

Just then, the front door opened. Oh thank god! The guys filed inside, complaining loudly about the weather and looking like drowned rats in the low light. Winston tried the switch, cursing under his breath when nothing happened. Nick scanned the room, squinting in the darkness.

"Jess?" he called, his eyes landing on the dark lump in the corner of the sofa.

"Here." Came her muffled reply. All three stared in her direction, biting their lips to hold back their grins.

"Little scared, Day?" Schmidt said, creeping towards her. She yelped with the next roar of thunder, pushing herself into the cushions as if trying to flee from it. Laughing, Schmidt collapsed next to her, using her body as an arm rest. Shaking his head, Nick also approached the duo, falling on the space on the other side of Jess. Winston made a trip to the kitchen, foraging through the cupboards until he found a pack of potato chips. Soon enough, the trio of men encircled the terrified girl on the sofa, Winston settling on the floor in front of her.

As much as they wanted to make fun of her, the knowledge that this was Jess didn't take a miss. She was one _special _lady, one that they had begrudgingly come to adore. Each of them individually thought the same thing: how had she turned out to be so _loveable? _Even Schmidt, who thought of himself as a sex god, had come to care for Jess as nothing more than a friend. There was a first for everything. Hell, Winston came to like the girl within a day of meeting her, even if they hadn't started off so well.

And Nick, who was grinning down at the girl beside him, couldn't help but wonder constantly about what she was doing to him. He would never, _ever, _admit it, but the reason he hadn't moved in with Caroline was because of this girl right here. Because, at the end of the day, Jess still needed him. Nick often thought how he had not at all liked Jess in the beginning, but then again he had always felt a certain pull towards her. He always silently admired her colourful clothing, her childish smile and comments, but not as much as he loved the fights they had. Passionate, fiery fights that always got his heart pumping with adrenaline. In the heat of the moment he would tell himself he hated her, but in the aftermath he would wish to relive it, just to get another taste of that passion he couldn't understand. Jessica Day was quite something.

"Maybe you should go bed." Winston dumbly suggested, munching noisily.

"I can't sleep in this!" came her flabbergasted voice, generally shocked that he would suggest such a stupid tip.

"You need to face your demons, Jess." Schmidt said.

"You face your demons. Nick, go put on his hair gel!" she snapped, whimpering in fright a moment later. Teasingly, Nick got up to move, but froze when Schmidt pointed a finger.

"Don't you dare, man." He snarled, and Nick held his hands up in surrender, falling back into his seat.

"Can we at least get some lights on in here?" Winston whined.

A few moments later, Nick and Schmidt came from their bedrooms with a torch each, and Winston had coaxed Jess out of her 'hiding place'. However, she still hid the lower part of her face behind the blanket, refusing to fall out of her tight ball. She was barely aware of how close the men circled her: on either side of her, Nick and Schmidt's thighs were crushed against hers, Winston occupying the tiny space in front of her and barely fitting on the cushion she shared with him. She felt somewhat protected by them, grateful for their closeness. It at least took her mind off the thunder.

Hoping to distract herself further, she stuttered, "Good night?"

"Meh." Nick said, shaking his head like a dog, splattering water droplets in all directions. Jess giggled, cringing away, while the guys complained loudly.

"Knock it off!" Schmidt yelled, covering his hair with his arms.

"Man up!" Nick said, brushing his hands through his hair, soaking them, and then reaching across between Jess and Winston to try and dampen Schmidt's hair. Embarrassingly, the man screamed like a girl. Laughing, Jess pushed Nick back, stealing a chip from Winston as she did.

"Why are you guys home so early?" Jess asked, chewing and almost forgetting about the thunder and lightning now.

"Cause it's Thursday night, and Thursday nights are not on. That's for Friday night, bitches!" Schmidt said, his voice taking an odd accent at the end. The guys rolled their eyes. That was _Schmidt's _excuse. But, truthfully, they wanted to get home to see if Jess was alright. As soon as the thunder started outside of Nick's bar, Nick suggested to go home, thinking of no one but Jess. He had hated the idea of her being alone in the loft, especially when the electricity had gone out. But, of course, he wouldn't admit that, either. Winston had agreed without argument, but Schmidt had had some longing glances at a group of girls, thinking it over, before he begrudgingly agreed.

Jess nodded, not daring to ask any more of it. When they lapsed into momentary silence, Jess cringed into Nick's body, hiding his face into his body. Awkwardly, he patted her back, a pathetic excuse of comfort.

"Let's watch a movie!" Winston exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"There's no power you dumbass." Nick said, snickering.

"We could play cards." Jess said, lifting her head from Nick's body. All the men screwed their faces up.

"The only game we know involving cards is poker. And when you play poker you need beer. Personally, I want to stay sober for at least one night a week." Nick told her, smiling.

"We could tell ghost stories." Schmidt said, holding his touch below his chin and letting it have a spooky look on his face.

"Really Schmidt?" Winston said, pulling a face. As if to answer the question, Jess squealed with more thunder, jumping and pulling the blanket over her head. This time, the guys couldn't help but laugh. They all thought she was kind of cute when she was frightened.

"I know! Let's play 'I Went On Holiday'." Schmidt said, and for once, it was a good idea of his.

"What's that?" Jess asked, peering over her blanket.

"It's a memory game." Winston said. "You say I went on holiday, and I packed my suitcase with... whatever item comes to mind."

Together, the guys did an example for her.

"I went on holiday, and I packed my suitcase with a t-shirt."

"I went on holiday, and I packed my suitcase with a t-shirt and some shorts."

"I went on holiday, and I packed my suitcase with a t-shirt, some shorts and some sun cream."

"Ah! I get it now!" Jess exclaimed, suddenly bubbly. And so they played it. They went on playing it for a very long time, actually, for all of their memories were fairly good when they were sober and alert. It effectively took Jess's mind off the weather. And the four of them actually had some good fun playing it. Some of the stuff they came out with was quite amusing, and it wasn't very often that they had fun while sober. And it made Jess happy, which was more than they could ask for. Nick mentally noted to himself to tell Schmidt to take a few dollars out of the jar for actually coming up with a good idea.

They moved on from that game to playing 'How Many Chips Can You Put In Your Mouth?', and it was a refreshingly funny game that Jess herself had suggested. They never really kept count, just laughed at one another with how full their mouths were. By the end of it, crumbs coated damp clothing, a blanket and the floor, but not of them cared. It was for good pass time.

The storm went on throughout the night, ending just a few hours before dawn. Out of the quartet, Jess was actually the first the fall asleep, snuggled in her blanket, snug between Nick and Schmidt. Winston ended up on the back of the sofa, lying lazily above and behind the trio on the sofa itself. He was next to fall asleep. Nick and Schmidt spoke in hushed voices for half an hour after, talking nonsense, Schmidt getting a "Jar!" at some point. But, at long last, they fell asleep, too.

In the morning, Cece came by, letting herself into the apartment. Jess had given her a spare key to the loft in case of an emergency, and after the storm last night, Cece wanted to make sure that her best friend was okay. She found Jess's fear one of the most adorable things about her, making her all the more lovable. She would have gone to her last night, but unfortunately she was rather drunk and had spent the night at some guy's house. Never mind!

However, Cece came into the loft to see something beyond adorable. All four roommates sound asleep on the sofa, Schmidt snoring softly, Jess's breathing coming out gentle and calm. She was nestled between Nick and Schmidt while tangled in a blanket, Nick's head on top of hers, his arm around her as she snuggled into his side. Schmidt had his head nestled on the curve of Jess's waist, his arm flopping over the edge of the sofa. Winston was on his back on the other end of the sofa, using Schmidt's legs as a pillow while his arm was folded over his face.

Stealthily, Cece pulled out her phone from her purse, smirking.

_I am so gonna hold this against them. _She thought to herself, snapping the photo. In that moment, Schmidt's eyes snapped open. It took him a few seconds to realize what was going on, seeing Cece with the phone, feeling Jess's body rise and fall with her breaths below his head. His legs were numb, and he looked down to see Winston's head there. Oh, hell no!

"Get off me, man!" He yelled. All three jerked awake, startled. Schmidt lunged off the sofa and stumbled slightly on his feet, rubbing his temples. Jess and Nick stared at one another and their current closeness, instantly jerking away from one another. Winston rolled off the sofa with a yelp.

"Never speak of this again!" Schmidt shouted, pointing at all of them. In response, Nick got to his feet and ran for his room, slamming the door shut. Schmidt followed suit, Winston staring with a dumbstruck expression. Cece was laughing her head off, crawling onto the sofa and settling beside a disorientated Jess.

"Cutest thing I have ever seen!" she yelled. Winston was on his feet, stumbling off to his room also. Jess looked at Cece's phone, staring at the photo she had just taken. And then she grinned.

"Guys! We could send it out as a holiday card together!" she yelled excitedly.

"_No, Jess!" _they all called back in unison. The two girls simply laughed, Cece sending the photo to Jess's phone as they did.

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**Review?**


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